Laurie Tisch: Not Just The "Green" Behind the Green Carts

Laurie Tisch wanted to know whether she had a story worth being told when she approached documentary filmmaker Mary Mazzio. When Mazzio explored Tisch’s idea, she found not one, but five stories begging to be told.

Laurie is the founder and president of the Fund, a charitable foundation devoted to two principles: access and opportunity. As a member of the Tisch family (of Loews Corporation fame and fortune) Laurie has arguably not found herself lacking in either, but she works to share these privileges that define the American Dream - even to those who were not born in this country, like many of the Green Cart Initiative’s beneficiaries.

Obesity is a serious issue in the food deserts and promoting nutrition was the primary aim in establishing the program. Yet, The Apple Pushers’ stories point out another unfortunate truth: that the American Dream rarely awaits immigrants upon their arrival in the United States, especially if they do not speak English. If attaining the American Dream is like solving a Rubik’s cube for those who have always called this country home, then achieving the same for immigrants can be like solving a Rubik’s cube if you are colorblind. The application process for obtaining a permit for selling food on the streets of New York City is tough enough even for those who do know all of the English words on the piles of required forms, but The Apple Pushers’ subjects persisted until they were successful.

In the film, the five tales of the purveyors’ whose Green Carts serve as fresh-food oases in places like Harlem and parts of Brooklyn are woven into a single narrative to show the ways in which the United States has benefited from newcomers. The strength of the documentary medium is that it shows viewers the faces behind the statistics that only offer them a logical explanation as to why they should care about this country’s issues with obesity and immigration.

The other day, I had the chance to speak with Laurie Tisch about the film and the story of the foundation that enabled both the Green Cart Initiative and the documentary to come to fruition.

It was evident to me that her approach to philanthropic work is very personal; it’s not just about the numbers, whether they are the amount in a grant or the change in a statistic.

Tisch may be the “green” behind the Green Carts, but her involvement goes beyond funding. Writer and Director of The Apple Pushers Mary Mazzio describes Tisch’s philanthropic work as “gritty” and “bold” - not exactly two adjectives one would use to describe the coiffed gala attendees readers of The New York Times Style Section see in the photographs that adorn Bill Cunningham’s pages.

Sure, you might see Laurie Tisch appear in one of those spreads, but you may also see her paying for an apple at any of the city’s more than 500 Green Carts. In a move characteristic of her hands-on philanthropy, when she first learned of the existence of New York’s food deserts, she drove to the areas to see for herself.

And she continues to see the program in action firsthand. She says that her favorite part of what she does is going out and seeing the results of the Fund’s grants. “[You] can get removed and cynical” if you only look at the metrics.

That’s not to say that the results haven’t been good; according to city health department survey results, the number of people who say they eat fresh fruits and vegetables has risen. Tisch estimates that about 800 jobs have been created through the Initiative.

But when Tisch talks about the results, the conversation tends to return to the human element as she recounts stories of teachers bringing their students out to the Green Carts, not only to learn about nutrition, but also to use the produce to demonstrate lessons in addition and subtraction.

Math lessons are not the only unexpected byproduct of the Green Carts’ presence in the city’s food deserts. The Initiative has produced the Green Cart Cookbook, which is full of recipes from famous chefs to the Green Cart vendors alike. According to Tisch, community organizations have used the recipes to hold cooking demonstrations, giving attendees the tools to prepare nutritious food at home.

The vendors and their Green Carts become fixtures in their communities and they build relationships with customers, local business owners, and even taxi drivers. Bardo, one Green Cart vendor profiled in the film, even attracts people from outside the community who come to buy his goods. Green Cart communities additionally benefit in that the vendors provide a set of eyes to what is going on in the streets. The film cites one example of a food cart vendor who thwarted a terrorist attack in Times Square.

Of her wealth, Tisch states simply, “That’s what money’s for and we’re lucky enough to be able to do it.”

That’s not to say that Tisch denies the power that comes with it - “Money makes a difference,” she says, “[There are] lots of things you can do with money.” However, she seems to view money as a means for doing good and not an end in itself.

So what is next for Laurie Tisch and the Illumination Fund?

“The Super Bowl!” (The Tisch family co-owns the New York Giants, which, true to the family’s tradition, has its own foundation.)

Taking a more serious tone, she continued, “By the end of February we’re ready to start figuring out where we’re going in the food world... To see where the needs are.”